8 Best Sights in South of the Thames, London

Despite its name, the cultural venue formerly known as the Imperial War Museum (one of five IWM branches now around the country) does not glorify either empire or bloodshed but emphasizes understanding through conveying the impact of 20th- and 21st-century warfare on citizens and soldiers alike. A dramatic six-story atrium at the main entrance encloses an impressive amount of hardware—including a Battle of Britain Spitfire, a German V2 rocket, the remains of a car blown up in post-invasion Iraq, tanks, guns, and submarines—along with accompanying interactive material and a café. The First World War galleries explore the wartime experience on both the home and fighting fronts, with the most comprehensive collection on the subject in the world—some 1,300 objects ranging from uniforms, equipment, and weapons to letters and diaries. The Second World War galleries shed light on that conflict through objects, film documentation, and eyewitness testimonies, as do the extensive and haunting Holocaust galleries (private tours are available for all three areas). Peace and Security 1945–2015 looks at more contemporary hostilities, including the Cold War, Iraq, and Afghanistan, right up to the current conflict in Ukraine. The Art, Photography, and Film galleries explore the wartime experience from World War I to the present day through the work of artists in these disciplines.

Saved by a keen sense of its own borderline ridiculousness, this gory attraction is full of over-the-top tableaux depicting the bloody demise of famous figures alongside the torture, murder, and ritual slaughter of lesser-known victims, all to a soundtrack of screaming, wailing, and agonized moaning. There are lively dramatizations about the Great Plague, Henry VIII, (the fictional) Sweeney Todd, and (the real) Jack the Ripper, just to name a few, with costumed characters leaping out of the gloom to bring the information to life and add to the fear and fun. There's also an Escape Room (make it and you won't be hanged) attraction. Perhaps most shocking are the crowds of children baying to get in: most kids absolutely love this place, although those with more a sensitive disposition may find it too frightening (that goes for adults as well). Expect long lines on weekends and during school holidays. Adults-only evening tours also include drinks. Tickets bought online and in advance can be up to 30% less than walk-up prices.

This attraction devoted to shedding light on life in a medieval prison is built on the site of the original "Clink," the oldest of Southwark's five prisons and the reason why "the clink" is now slang for jail (the original medieval building was burned to the ground in 1780). Owned by the bishops of Winchester from 1144 to 1780, it was the first prison to detain women, many for prostitution. Because of the bishops' relaxed attitude toward the endemic trade—they decided to license prostitution rather than ban it—the area within their jurisdiction was known as "the Liberty of the Clink." Subsequent prisoners included Puritans who would later sail on the Mayflower to find more religious freedom. Inside, you'll discover how grisly a Tudor prison could be, operating on a code of cruelty, deprivation, and corruption. The prison was only a small part of Winchester Palace, a huge complex that was the bishops' London residence. You can still see the remains of the early 13th-century Great Hall, with its famous rose window, next to Southwark Cathedral.

Compact, highly visual, and engaging, this museum on the grounds of St. Thomas's Hospital is dedicated to Florence Nightingale, who founded the first school of nursing and played a major role in establishing modern standards of health care. Exhibits are divided into three areas: one is devoted to Nightingale's Victorian childhood, the others to her work tending soldiers during the Crimean War (1854–56) and her subsequent health-care reforms, including a display on how she developed a program for training nurses. The museum incorporates Nightingale's own books, her famous lamp, and even her pet owl Athena (now stuffed), as well as interactive displays of medical instruments and medicinal herbs. There are temporary exhibitions and a shop with unexpectedly amusing gifts like syringe-shape highlighters.

This is a full-size reconstruction of the little galleon in which the famed Elizabethan explorer Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe in 1577–80. Launched in 1973, the exact replica made one full and one partial round-the-world voyage, calling in at ports—many along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of the United States—to serve as a maritime museum. Now berthed at the St. Mary Overie Dock, the ship continues its educational purpose, complete with a "crew" in period costumes and three decks of artifacts. Lessons in crew functions like how to haul anchor or get a cannon ready to fire are especially popular with younger visitors. There are also frequent musical evenings. The ship is occasionally closed for maintenance and private functions so be sure to check the website before visiting.

At 613½ feet, this large light-cruiser is one of the last remaining big-gun armored warships from World War II, in which it played an important role in protecting the Arctic convoys and supporting the D-Day landings in Normandy; the ship later saw action during the Korean War. This floating museum has been moored in the Thames as a maritime branch of IWM London since 1971. A tour of all nine decks—including an engine room 15 feet below sea level, the admiral's quarters, mess decks, bakery, punishment cells, operations room, and more—gives a vivid picture of life on board the ship. A riveting gun-turret experience with immersive sound puts you in the middle of the D-Day landings, while life aboard is explored through archive film and veterans' recorded reminiscences.

Set amid 16 acres of gardens, this eclectic museum is considered something of a well-kept secret by the residents of south London—perhaps because of its out-of-the-way location. Its offerings encompass world anthropology, natural history, and a fine collection of some 1,300 musical instruments (including a giant tuba). The emphasis is on fun and a wide range of activities (many hands-on), including London's oldest nature trail (which features domesticated creatures such as sheep, chickens, and alpacas), a butterfly house, and an aquarium stocked with endangered species. It's also home to a comically overstuffed walrus who serves as the museum's unofficial mascot. You can reach the Dulwich Picture Gallery from the museum via a door-to-door 15-minute bus ride on Bus P4 heading toward Brixton.

The curved, colonnaded, neoclassical former County Hall that once housed London's municipal government is now home to a superb three-level aquarium where you can walk above sharks and stingrays and view more than 600 other aquatic species, both common and rare. There are also hands-on displays. It's not the biggest aquarium you've ever seen, but the educational exhibits are particularly well arranged, with theme zones devoted to a stunning coral reef, a "jellyfish experience," and rain-forest aquatic life. Admission at peak periods is by 15-minute timed entry slot, but for an additional £16 you can purchase flexible priority-entry tickets that also avoid the long lines.